Apple Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread

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5 from 1 vote

Apple Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread

Prep Time45

Cook Time50

Rising Time2 40

Total Time4 15

Course: Breakfast, Dessert

Servings: Servings

Calories: 456kcal

Ingredients

Cinnamon Roll Dough

3½ tsp active dry yeast
⅔ cup whole milk
⅓ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
⅓ cup unsalted butter room temperature
3⅔ cup all purpose flour
1⅓ tsp salt
½ tsp allspice
1 lemon grated zest

Dough Coating

½ cup granulated sugar
2½ tsp cinnamon

Apple Filling

2 granny smith apples large
2 tbsp brown sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
½ lemon juiced
2 tbsp water

Caramel Sauce

1⅓ cup walnuts crushed or chopped finely
1⅓ cup brown sugar
1½ tsp vanilla extract
1 cup butter melted

Instructions

Dough:

Heat milk to 105°-115°F. Add to mixing bowl and sprinkle yeast on top. Let sit for 5 minutes, until yeast bubbles. Add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl. With dough hook attachment, knead dough for 5-7 minutes. I start the first 2 minutes on the lowest setting, then increase the setting by 1 for the last 5 minutes. You may need to add flour (about 1/4 c) to keep it from sticking to the mixing bowl.
Once dough is soft and elastic, place in a lightly oiled bowl and cover in plastic wrap. Put in a draft free spot for 1 1/2 - 2 hours, until dough doubles in size.

Dough Coating:

Mix ingredients together and set aside.

Apple Filling:

Peel and dice apples into 1/4" cubes. Put in sauce pan on medium high heat. Add all other ingredients, stirring frequently, until the mixture comes to a simmer. Let cook an additional 2 minutes then remove from the heat. Set aside.

Caramel Sauce:

Add all ingredients to bowl and mix well. Set aside.

Assembly:

Once dough has risen, remove from bowl and dice in 3/4" size cubes. Mix with dough coating mix. I do this is steps to prevent dough from sticking back together, until all dough has been cut and coated.
Lightly spray Bundt pan with baking spray. Add 1/3 caramel sauce to bottom of the pan (make sure to stir well first each time) and then add a layer of dough balls in Bundt pan. The layers do not need to completely cover since the dough will rise again about 20-30%. Add 1/3 apple filling, then another layer of dough. Repeat until all ingredients are gone, ending with the layer of caramel.
Cut off the top 1/3 of 3 wooden skewers. Place in Bundt pan equally apart from each other, then cover with kitchen towel. The skewers will prevent the caramel sauce sticking to the kitchen towel when it rises. Let sit for 40 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Remove skewers from dough and place on a baking sheet. Bake on the center rack of the oven for 40 minutes, then cover with foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes. You will know it's done when you can insert a skewer and it comes out clean of dough (check carefully, if you hit a bunch of apples you may think it's dough residue).
Let sit for 5 minutes, then flip upside down on cake platter. Store any leftovers in the refridgerator. Enjoy!

Notes

This recipe reheats very well, just microwave for 30 seconds and it's like it came right out of the oven!

Try different add-ons in this recipe, replace the apple with raisins (or just add raisins), dried cherries, blueberries! Your imagination is the limit! Experiment with different nut and fruit combinations based on what you and your family loves!

Nutrition